Chapter 16: Assumption of Office (Part 1)

Just as Zhang Maolin was about to step out of his office, he pulled his foot back and returned to the desk. He steadied his gaze on the date displayed on the desk calendar: Saturday, December 26, 1998; the eighth day of the eleventh month in the lunar calendar.

Zhang Maolin casually drew a thick, black, bent-nib calligraphy pen from the pen holder and scrawled a massive, prominent question mark and exclamation point right in the middle of the blank space on the calendar page! He took a deep breath, and slowly let it out.

The winter morning sunlight felt somewhat immature and pale, lacking true warmth as it reluctantly spilled over his slightly plump physique, yet he could still distinctly feel a trace of unusual warmth...

Zhang Maolin led his fellow leadership team members downstairs to the city branch office building to respectfully welcome the provincial branch delegation headed by Tan Yiwu.

What left Zhang Maolin quite puzzled was that Teng Deming was conspicuously absent from the accompanying group.

The inauguration ceremony for the new leadership team of the Songyang Commercial Bank was held in the Golden Peak Conference Hall of the Songyang Hotel.

According to the traditional routine of the Songyang Commercial Bank, inauguration meetings mostly followed a three-stage format: first, the head of the provincial branch personnel department would announce the party committee's appointment and dismissal documents; second, the newly appointed chief executive would take the stage to deliver an inaugural address; and finally, the highest leader of the provincial branch would give a concluding, emotionally stirring, and encouraging speech. The concluding ritual was for all attendees to stand up and pass the motion with applause!

Because the pre-promotion evaluation process for Zhang Maolin had been conducted through a secret ballot of all section-level cadres across the jurisdiction and all headquarters staff of the city branch, followed by public vote counting, the attendance at this inauguration meeting was unprecedentedly high. The Golden Peak Conference Hall of the Songyang Hotel was packed to capacity, and due to the overwhelming number of attendees, dozens of multicolored plastic stools had to be temporarily added along the aisles of the hall.

Zhang Maolin's steps as he walked up to the stage were somewhat slow. To him, the dozen or so meters under his feet felt as though they spanned numerous deep chasms!

Reaching the center of the podium, Zhang Maolin did not immediately read his prepared materials. Instead, he lowered his head and bowed deeply to the sea of densely packed heads in the silent audience!

Deliberately avoiding the microphone, his resonant voice easily filled every corner of the venue:

"...Strictly speaking, this cannot really be considered an inaugural speech. For me, Zhang Maolin, starting today, it means putting down my own rice bowl and taking up the cauldron of the entire bank! I am deeply aware that the burden on my shoulders has suddenly grown much heavier. I don't have any flashy phrases in my belly, only a few words as heavy and solid as sticky rice cakes—summarized, they come down to three things I anticipated and three things I did not anticipate."

Zhang Maolin glanced back at the provincial branch leaders sitting rigidly on the platform, the outgoing president Wang Weixin, and the current members of the city branch leadership team. He continued:

"To be specific: First, I anticipated the consistent support from the employees of the Songyang Branch, but I did not expect the provincial branch to place such a high level of trust in me, Zhang Maolin; second, I anticipated the various hardships currently faced by the Songyang Commercial Bank, but I could not imagine just how many difficulties lie ahead; third, I anticipated that I would surely be able to lead the people of Songyang Commercial Bank to accomplish something notable, but I never expected to have this platform when I am approaching fifty years of age!"

A light cough echoed from the podium behind him.

Zhang Maolin could tell that it was the sound of Bian Zecheng. He understood that Bian Zecheng must have felt the final remark was somewhat inappropriate and was deliberately reminding him!

Paying no heed to Bian Zecheng's prompt, Zhang Maolin went on:

"To sum everything up in one final sentence: An arrow drawn from the bow cannot be called back, and a sail chasing a thousand miles must take the lead boat! If the future of the Songyang Commercial Bank still shows no significant improvement, it will only prove my personal incompetence! When that time comes, no one else will need to chase me away—Zhang Maolin will pack his bags and get the hell back home immediately!"

Having said this, Zhang Maolin took a large step backward, bowed deeply once more, and then briskly walked back to his seat on the podium.

A silence of several seconds lingered in the hall...

Suddenly, the applause burst forth like a breached flood embankment! Without any prompting, the instantly erupted applause sustained itself endlessly. Sustained by this rolling wave of applause, people in the first few rows stood up one after another, followed closely by those behind them, until more than a thousand people in the audience were collectively standing and applauding!

...

A warm surge welled up in Zhang Maolin's chest, quickly transforming into a crackling, burning ember of charcoal! His vision gradually blurred until it was entirely submerged by tears.

Zhang Maolin rose once more, bowing and cupping his hands in salute to the crowd!

...

When Zhang Maolin walked into Room 818 of the Songyang Hotel, Tan Yiwu, dressed in a maroon silk pajama set, was pacing with his hands behind his back in the spacious, warm-air-filled room.

"According to our scheduled itinerary, I am supposed to return to the provincial capital this afternoon. But I just changed my mind at the last minute and am not leaving. Do you know the real reason?"

Tan Yiwu asked straight to the point.

"Oh, I have no idea. However, the fact that President Tan can stay in Songyang for one more day is a great honor and a profound display of goodwill toward our Songyang City Branch and myself!"

"Ha-ha! Who says our President Zhang is not eloquent? That is a quite artistic answer! Ha-ha-ha... You are right. To be more specific, it is your wonderful inaugural speech today that captivated me and made me stay! For so many years, this is the first time I have listened to an inaugural address that was so concise, so emotional, so unconventional, and so innovative! Just for this alone, handing the hot potato of the Songyang Branch over to you means the pearl has truly found its proper recipient. Ha-ha-ha."

Zhang Maolin answered with humility:

"To tell the truth, I am a crude country fellow with no command of literary grace. But after all, this was an inauguration statement speech; traditionally, one should first invoke a few clichés about 'under the strong leadership of such-and-such,' 'with the vigorous support of such-and-such,' and 'amidst the cordial care of such-and-such,' before getting to the main point. But I am not good at playing that game, and I utterly detest that routine. So, please don't hold it against me, Lord President! Ha-ha."

Tan Yiwu waved his hand and said:

"How could I? Ha-ha-ha, I am actually full of praise. All through this afternoon, I have been thinking: if the meeting style and writing style of our section-level cadres could also undergo a comprehensive 'shuffle and renewal,' I should invite you to give a lecture. I imagine the effect would undoubtedly be stellar. You should mentally prepare yourself; who knows, one of these days I might just call upon you to take the stage at a general meeting! Ha-ha-ha..."

Zhang Maolin hurriedly declined:

"No, no, no! Please don't torture me, President Tan! With a rough-hewn fellow like me, once I step onto the podium of your provincial branch, I might just pass out from nervousness before I even manage to speak!"

"No, no..."

Tan Yiwu shook his head and said:

"You're wrong. You are no crude fellow at all. Rather, you are rough on the outside yet meticulous within, hiding needles inside cotton!

Over the years, I have heard many stories about you, Zhang Maolin, but I lacked the most direct understanding. Now it appears that many of the rumors were merely prejudice mixed with misunderstanding. I believe the provincial branch's utilization of your talents was indeed delayed! Of course, the biggest loss in all this was not yours personally, but rather our entire Commercial Bank team. Now, the provincial branch party committee has placed this heavy burden of the Songyang City Commercial Bank upon your shoulders. I hope you can shoulder it firmly, hold it up steadily, walk steadfastly, and run swiftly!"